Thousands of people showed their solidarity with Palestine this Saturday in various mobilizations that filled the streets of the Spanish city of Bilbao (north) before the celebration of the match between the football teams of Euskadi (Basque Country) and Palestine in the San Mamés stadium.

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The match is attended by different political and institutional representatives, including the lehendakari (president of the Basque Government), Imanol Pradales, and the Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego.

Hours before the start of the match, two marches went through the city center with a shared message of support for Palestine, although with different organizers and different political nuances.

As the second of them passed, in which the participants launched flares and firecrackers, four garbage containers were burned.

The first demonstration began at 5:30 PM in the city center heading towards San Mamés, with the participation of thousands of people demanding an end to the “genocide” in Gaza and in favor of official status for the Basque sports teams.

This mobilization was promoted by the Gernika-Palestina platform, the Gure Esku citizen sovereignty movement, and the Gu ere Bai sports organization, which advocates for official status for the Basque teams, and had the support of the Basque pro-independence group EH Bildu.

Families, young people, and elderly people were seen in this march. And the organizers danced an aurresku (traditional Basque dance) of honor in memory of the people killed in Palestine.

On behalf of the organizers, the representative of Gure Esku, Josu Etxaburu, called for an end to the “genocide” in Gaza and “a free Palestine and a free Euskal Herria (Basque Country).”

The second march was also massive, with around 20,000 people participating, according to sources from the Bilbao Municipal Police.

The protesters, mostly young people, marched through the main streets of the city, called together by the Palestinarekin Elkartasuna (Solidarity with Palestine) platform, along with fans of Basque teams. Throughout their route, shouts against Israel and in favor of amnesty for prisoners and for independence were heard.

As they passed through the Gran Vía, four containers were burned, and according to sources from the Basque Department of Security, during the march there was also the throwing of flares, firecrackers, and some bottles against agents of the Ertzaintza (Basque police).

The march was led by a large banner with a drawing of a soccer player with his face covered by a scarf and a weapon on his back, and the head of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a ball over the message: “Israel estatu terrorista” (Israel, a terrorist state).

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